Zara pulls controversial shirt after social media firestorm

A Spanish clothing store has come under blistering criticism for selling a children's T-shirt emblazoned with a star that evoked memories of the Holocaust.

Zara, owned by Spain's Inditex, was forced to issue an apology for selling the shirt. The item, which website Quartz reported was first noticed by an Israeli/Palestinian blog, is billed as a "striped Sheriff t-shirt" based on the badge worn by officials in American Western films.

However, some felt it more resembled the symbol the Third Reich forced millions of Jews to wear in concentration camps during World War II.

The design sparked an uproar that ricocheted across social media, prompting Zara to yank it from shelves. The retailer issued a series of replies to outraged Twitter users, apologizing profusely for the gaffe: